Clear Fork bounces back with big win over Lexington, 43-16

LEXINGTON — It was not a fun week of practice in the valley for a football team not used to losing.

But Clear Fork — which saw a 21-game regular season win streak snapped last week — bounced back in week three with a 43-16 win against Lexington in a game completed Saturday morning after lighting suspended play Friday night.

“I am very proud of how the kids responded all week in practice,” Clear Fork coach Dave Carroll said. “When you haven’t lost a game, when you win 21 in a row, that first one … that’s tough.

“It was hard on all of us. It was hard on our community. We had great practices. The kids bounced back after a tough loss in 90-degree heat all week. They did a fantastic job,” he said.

SENIOR LEADER: Clear Fork quarterback Brennan South led the bounce-back effort after the 21-7 loss to Granville in week two. The 6-1, 160-pound senior completed 14 of 24 passes for 230 yards and five TDs, connecting with six different receivers.

South, who also had one of Clear Fork’s three interceptions on defense, also rushed for 46 yards on 14 carries.

Catching touchdown passes for the Colts were junior Ashton Lyon (32 yards, 26 yards), senior Jackson Myer (16 yards), senior Elijah Hughes (25 yards) and senior Tacoma Orr (41 yards). Hughes also have a 5-yard TD run.

Carroll, whose team built a 21-3 lead on Friday night before play was suspended late in the first half, still saw room for improvement, especially during a game that saw his team flagged for 12 penalties totaling 118 yards.

“The penalty thing is driving me nuts. That’s gotta stop,” the veteran coach said. “We only had the one turnover at the end. That was better than last week when turnovers killed us.”

Clear Fork rushed for 184 yards on 29 carries, led by 62 yards on two attempts by sophomore Ethan Staley and 53 yards on four tries by senior Collin Crider.

TOUGH TO STOP: Lexington coach Tim Scheid, whose Minutemen slipped to 1-2, said Clear Fork was a tough team to defense.

“They are so dynamic. They have speed all over the place. You gotta try to contain the run. When you do that, you leave open the passing game. That’s what was happening to us.

“We were running to try to stop their outside run stuff. The safeties and the corners were getting their eyes in the wrong places and then we give up the big play,” Scheid said.

Carroll said his team’s run game improved in the past week.

“We were able to run the ball a little better against a team that is going to put six or seven guys in the box and blitz the crap out of you,” he said. “That’s a tough defense to go against. They pressure you and (run man-to-man) in the secondary with a free safety in the middle.”

The game was the resumption of a long-standing rivalry that was last played in 2016 when both schools were in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.

“This game is huge. We have missed it the last two years,” Carroll said. “This goes back to the Bellville-Butler days when I was in school. It’s just two communities that love to compete against one another.

“More importantly, we rebounded after last week’s loss. No one wants to be sitting 1-2,” he said.

COSTLY MISTAKES: Lexington, which committed five turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles), had two scores wiped off the scoreboard on Friday night due to penalties.

“You can’t give five turnovers to a team like Clear Fork and expect to win the game,” Scheid said. “Those turnovers also turned into bad field position. That first half, we were always on the wrong side of the field and couldn’t get out of it.”

Sophomore QB Cole Pauley completed 15 of 29 passes for 249 yards, including a 56-yard TD pass to senior Alex Green. He also had three interceptions.

“It was a young quarterback forcing the ball into places,  not seeing where he needs to throw it,” Scheid said.

“The encouraging thing is how the kids did fight back in the end (after trailing 35-3). We were moving the ball. Cole made some great throws at the end and our receivers made some great plays on highly contested balls, which I was proud of. (And) our offensive line second-half pass protection was very good,” Scheid said.

The Minutemen, who got a 30-yard field goal in the first half by freshman A.J. Young, also got a 2-yard TD run from senior Kaydan Berry.

Senior Keith Thomas led Lexington with 60 yards on 10 carries. Green had eight catches for 104 yards and Berry had 102 yards on two catches.

UP NEXT: Clear Fork hosts unbeaten Bellevue (3-0) next Friday night at the Colt Corral in another non-league game. The Redmen blanked Madison on Friday night, 28-0. Bellevue has posted two shutouts and outscored their opponents, 112-14.

Lexington travels to unbeaten Mount Vernon on Friday for the first OCC game of season. The Yellow Jackets (3-0) hammered Buckeye Valley, 43-9, on Friday night and also own wins over Marion Harding and Newark.